2008–2009

• 35–47

Offensive

• 106.0 (27th)

Defensive

• 107.5 (7th)

Returning Players:

• C: Alexis Ajinca
• G: D.J. Augustin
• G: Raja Bell
• F: Boris Diaw
• C: DeSagana Diop
• G: Dontell Jefferson
• C: Nazr Mohammed
• C: Emeka Okafor
• F: Vladimir Radmonovic
• F: Gerald Wallace

Free Agents:

• F: Juwan Howard, (Unrestricted)
• G: Raymond Felton, (Restricted)
• F: Cartier Martin, (Restricted)
• F: Sean May, (Restricted)
• G: Sean Singletary, (Team option)

Areas Of Strength:

Defense. Few teams played better defense per 100 possessions than the Bobcats, a Larry Brown trademark. In Bell, they have one of the better perimeter defenders and in Okafor, one of the better shot blockers. The Bobcats also do a great job of slowing the game down on offense (87.2 possessions per 48 minutes, 26th in the NBA), which also helps their defense. They're not going to get into an up-and-down game. They give themselves a chance to get their defense set.

Needs Work:

Scoring and ball control. Another reason the Bobcats slow the pace is because they don't have the offensive horses to run with anyone. Their offensive numbers were abysmal. They averaged 93.6 points per game, worst in the league, and those digits didn't get much better when put into the larger context of points per 100 possessions (106.0, 27th in the NBA). The Bobcats also were woeful in protecting the ball, committing 1,279 turnovers, fourth-worst in the league, a rate of 17.7 turnovers per 100 possessions, worst in the NBA.

Two Stats That Matter:

• 16.6 -- Gerald Wallace's points per game, highest on the Bobcats but second-lowest for any team leader in the league
• 3 -- Teams against whom the Bobcats have a plus-.500 winning percentage (Atlanta, 12-8; Minnesota, 6-4; and L.A. Lakers, 6-4)

The Way To Go:

For the first time in their brief history, the Bobcats have little or no chance of moving into the top 10 of the Lottery (0.70 percent chance of No. 1), and a 93.5 percent chance of staying at No. 12.

While the Bobcats have veteran presence with Diaw, Bell, Wallace and Okafor, they really didn't have a go-to guy to get them buckets when they needed them. It's unlikely they'll find someone at No. 12 who will be a king in the clutch. They may want to look at shooting guards and small forwards. Bell is more of a defender and Wallace, also known as "Crash," tends to spend a lot of time injured. He has never played more than 72 games in a season.

Fan Predictions

Expert Predictions